Lord Coe on a visit to the Olympic Stadium. He says the London 2012 Games lanes are only 1% of the Olympic Route Network. Photograph: Wpa Pool/Getty Images

The London 2012 chairman, Lord Coe, today defended the use of VIP traffic lanes during the Games, in the face of accusations there would be a public backlash if they were perceived as allowing "self-important people to swan around our city".

Coe moved to tackle the perception that the lanes would be used to ferry International Olympic Committee members, dignitaries and sponsors around London while ordinary ticket holders were being urged to use public transport.

"This is a functional system, it's not glamorous. Only 5% of the vehicles will be cars. These are athletes, officials, dope-testing units, maintenance crews. This is reputational and it's absolutely vital. These client groups are using these lanes to go to work," said Coe.

"The Olympic lanes are only 1% of that network. You have a choice: you can have this city remembered as Barcelona or Atlanta," he told London assembly members, referring to the 1996 Games that faced a series of transport problems, and are generally remembered as the worst of the modern era.

John Biggs, a Labour assembly member, said: "Many Londoners would be very anxious, particularly in light of the events of the last week, that any perception the Olympic Route Network was some sort of bung to make it easy for rich men in blazers – in some cases corrupt men in blazers – to get around would be very strongly resisted.

"Regardless of the promises you made in the bid, we should be very clear the priority is making it easy for Londoners to move around our city and not make it easy for self-important people to swan around our city and take us for granted."

Coe said ensuring athletes, officials and the media could get around the city during the Games was vital to delivering a successful event.

"The risk of getting this wrong is massive. The reputational risk to London and the traction of everything from future investment to tourism is predicated on our ability to do this. It is a key perogative."

John Armitt, chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority – responsible for spending £8.1bn of public money on building the Games infrastructure – also ruled out allowing disabled blue badge holders with tickets to use the lanes. It would be "an extremely difficult thing to manage", he said.

The Liberal Democrat Caroline Pidgeon criticised Armitt's position on the disabled badges, saying it was "appalling that the ODA have ruled out such a modest proposal".

"Quite frankly the need of many disabled people is far greater than many of the other people who will be able to use these lanes," she said. "The excuses put forward by the Olympic Delivery Authority for not implementing this policy are simply indefensible and totally contradict the promise we made to the world to host the most accessible Games ever."

Tomorrow the ODA will unveil the first new Games venue built from scratch, when the Lee Valley White Water Centre, near Waltham Cross in Hertfordshire, is opened by the Princess Royal. The venue, which will host the canoe slalom event during the Games, will open to the public next spring.

"Our vision has always been to use the power of the Games to inspire change and this is another world-class venue that would not have been built without Britain staging the Games," said Coe. "With the centre open to the public both before and after the thrilling action at Games-time, it really does demonstrate the great legacy that London 2012 will leave for users from elite athletes to kids from local communities."